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Friday, December 5, 2014

Traditional Tree Hunt 2014

Squire is finally getting around to a project he has prepared for and been contemplating since our very first Christmas together. He has saved a piece of trunk from each one of the Christmas trees we've had. He is slicing them into ornaments and wood-burning the year into each one. That Squire had and executed this idea all on his own is pretty romantic to me. I absolutely love these - and my husband. :) Here are the few he has finished. They just need a little twine to hang:

Christmas tree ornaments - from our previous Christmas trees!

I have photos of each one of our Christmas trees, as well as a photo of our family each year at Christmastime. I am planning to print them up and hang them with clothespins from twine. We will add a new Christmas tree ornament, and photo(s) each year.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, we went on a little trip up to the Arizona White Mountains to cut down our Christmas tree - Squire's favorite Christmas tradition. We cut our tree down from the White Mountains last year, too. A 3 hour drive 5 hour drive with kids, for Tuscon residents wanting to get their Christmas tree the right way! ;) So far, we have cut down our own tree 5 of the 6 years we've been married - the one year we didn't, understandably, was the December Atley was born. (Guys - I'll never hear the end of how dry that tree from the lot was!!) To save myself from hearing about another dry tree for the rest of my life and for a little fresh air in uncommon scenery to Arizona - even with Jocelyn just being a few weeks old - we made it happen!

Here are some photos documenting the parts of the day we want to remember most (NOT for example, the bathroom stops on the side of the road with a newly potty trained little girl, which may or may not have included a trail of little poops spaced out evenly and frequently enough to rival and outlast Hansel and Gretel's bread crumb trace. . . or the "sticker getters" that found their way into every nook and cranny of our socks, shoes and pants . . . or pictures/video of the kids crying in unison to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" the whole last hour of the drive home. Nope. No photos to remember those things.) We do, however, have these:

Interesting fowl on the side of the road - there were two of them - partridges?! ;) Only a pear tree would have made this better, and more delicious. Don't worry, we didn't eat the birds. And for the record, I have no clue what they really were.

Per Squire's request - Me pretending to have cut down with mammoth tree
with my tiny handsaw while holding a baby. Ooooh yeah. Don't mess with
THIS mama!

Lincoln with "the one!"

"Yay!" Family snapshot with our tree.

Little Jocelyn - look at those little neck folds, and her pink cheeks, and her little hands! Excuse me while I go chomp on my baby girl's face for a moment. . .